Officials and referees used Oak Ridge Rowing Association boats to monitor the races on the seven-lane course at the 2016 SIRA Championship Regatta in Oak Ridge on Sunday, April 17, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

On Tuesday, the Oak Ridge City Council will consider a $548,350 contract to add an eighth lane to the city’s rowing course on the Clinch River.

Council will consider the contract, which would be awarded to First Place Finish Incorporated, at 1 p.m. Tuesday, September 6, in the Oak Ridge Municipal Building Courtroom.

The work would include a precast concrete block retaining wall and associated dredging and site work.

Funding for the project comes from several sources, Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson said in a September 2 memo to City Council. The Tennessee Department of Tourist Development has allocated $250,000 for the project. The city’s Capital Improvements Program, or CIP, has budgeted $585,000 for the project, with the city’s share being $185,000.

Racing in the USRowing Club National Championships in Oak Ridge on Saturday, July 19, 2014, consisted of heats and semifinals setting up the second round of finals on Sunday, July 20. (Photo by USRowing)

An engineering company will start geotechnical testing next week along Melton Lake Greenway for the installation of an eighth rowing lane, officials said Thursday.

Work will be done by Barge Waggoner Sumner and Cannon Inc. engineering, the Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Department said. The testing is scheduled to begin Monday, October 12, and be complete on Friday, October 16, weather permitting.

The testing areas will be concentrated between Palisades Parkway and Amanda Drive, a press release said. During the geotechnical testing process, the use of Melton Lake Greenway may be disrupted. [Read more…]